2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree School for You
Culinary Arts is the #100 most popular major in the country with 19,806 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. This report analyzed 22 schools in the Southwest Region to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for culinary arts students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 10 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools
Our analysis found Lee College to be the best value school for culinary arts students who want to pursue a associate degree in the Southwest Region . Located in the city of Baytown, Lee College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Lee College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,302 in tuition and fees each year.
Lee College also claimed a spot on our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend El Centro College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of Dallas, El Centro College is a public school with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at El Centro College are $6,000 per year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at El Centro College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $22,807.
El Centro College also took the #3 spot in our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region rankings.
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Out of the 22 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, South Plains College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the distant town of Levelland, South Plains College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
South Plains College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,276 in tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Grayson College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the rural area of Denison, Grayson College is a public college with a small student population.
Grayson College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,482 in tuition and fees each year.
Full Culinary Arts at Grayson College Report
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend San Jacinto Community College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the suburb of Pasadena, San Jacinto College is a public school with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Jacinto College are $5,040 per year.
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Del Mar College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree culinary arts programs. DMC is a large public school located in the city of Corpus Christi.
DMC undergraduate students pay an average of $5,930 in tuition and fees each year.
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Houston Community College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree culinary arts programs. Houston Community College is a very large public school located in the large city of Houston.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Houston Community College are $5,460 a year. On average, culinary arts graduates from Houston Community College take out $27,562 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Kilgore College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Kilgore College is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Kilgore.
Kilgore College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,256 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #9, Austin Community College District did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the large city of Austin, Austin Community College District is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Austin Community College District undergraduate students pay an average of $10,590 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from Austin Community College District carry an average student debtload of $12,254.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Austin Community College District also is in the top 10% of our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking.
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With a ranking of #10, Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. OSU Institute of Technology is a small public school located in the town of Okmulgee.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at OSU Institute of Technology are $11,384 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at OSU Institute of Technology accumulate an average of around $18,432 in student debt.
Read full report on Culinary Arts at Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology
Request InformationBest Culinary Arts Colleges by State
Explore the best culinary arts colleges for a specific state in the Southwest region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Texas | 701 |
| Arizona | 87 |
| Oklahoma | 26 |
| New Mexico | 42 |
More Culinary Arts Rankings in the Southwest Region
Culinary Arts Related Majors for Culinary Arts
One of 4 majors within the area of study, culinary arts has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Cosmetology | 107,895 |
| Funeral & Mortuary Science | 2,354 |
| Casino Operations and Services | 192 |
| Other Personal & Culinary Services | 81 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 22 schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to U.S. Army Europe Images.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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